Dental handpiece.



J. D. WILK Patented Apr. I7, |900. ENS.

DENTAL HANDPIECE.

(Application filed Jan. 26, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. VILKENS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE DENTAL PRO- TECTIVE SUPPLY COMPANY OF THE UNITED STATES, OF SAME PLACE.

DENTAL HANDPIECE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 647,736, dated April 1"?, ieee.

Application tiled January 26, 1899. Serial No. 703,437. (No model.) i

T a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. WILKENS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dental Handpieces, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dental handpieces, and has for its object to provide means where by such handpieces can be immediately con- Io nected with and disconnected :from their actuating-shaft. In using such instruments' it is frequently the case that a practically-instantaneous change from one type of handpiece' to another-as, for instance, from a straight handpiece, so called, to an angle handpiece-is desirable, while in practice it would require a considerable length of time to unscrew the first handpiece and screw the second one in place with the ordinary screwzo joint connection commonly used. It is for the purpose of obviating this loss of time with the connection in common use and to enconsists in certain novel features which I willk now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

3o In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of a structure embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the two parts disconnected at the joint. Fig.

l 3 is an illustrative view showing the several 3 5 parts of the coupling separated. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the coupling; and Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

In the said drawings, 10 indicates a handpiece of any approved construction, comprising a stationary outer casing 11 and an internal revolving spindle 12, mounted in lsuit,- able bearings' therein, the casing being provided with the usual terminal collet 13`,thread ed at 14 for connection with the couplingshaft of the engine, while the spindle 12 is also threaded, as shown at 15,y for connection with the rotating portion of said shaft. These 5o parts may be of any approved construction usually employed in dental handpieces of this character. t

The coupling proper, which forms the subject-matter of my invention, comprises two parts, one adapted for connection with the handpiece and the other for connection with the engine-shaft. The part connected with the handpiece consists of a sleeve or hollow cylinder 16, threaded internally at one end, as indicated at 17 in Fig. L1., to screw upon the threaded portion 14. of the collet 13. This sleeve 16 is provided with a resilient or elastic portion 18, having a locking projection 19 thereon for the purpose hereinafter set forth, and this resilient or elastic portion or tongue may be formed, if desired, by slitting the sleeve longitudinally along two parallel lines and depressing the metal of the strip thus partially detached, so as to form the projection 19, which extends toward the interior of the sleeve 16. The handpiece part of the coupling also comprises a rotating coupling member 20, which is threaded internally to screw upon the threaded portion 15 of the-spindle 12, while its projecting end is polygonal or lattened at the sides, as indicated at 21, to cause it to engage with the other coupling member carried by the shaft and hereinafter described. The other part of the coupling, which may be termed the engine part,comprises anon-1'otating sleeve 22, which lits snugly within the sleeve 16 and which is provided with a vcircumferential groove or recess 23 to receive the projection 19 of said sleeve 16. The construction of the parts is such that the two parts'of the device may be united by simply inserting the one sleeve within the other until the projection 19 engages the groove 23, the two parts being held in engagement against ordinary force, but being separable by means of a pull of sniicient strength to disengage said projec-V tion from said groove. 24 indicates a collet threaded internally at one end to screw upon the correspondingly threaded end of the sleeve 22, said collet being provided with an externally-threaded portion 25 at its other end ,to adapt it for connection with the coupling on the engine-shaft in the usual manner. This collet is provided internally with a con- IOO ical bearing-surface 26.' Mounted within the sleeve-.22 is a hollow spindle 27, having ,an extension 28 outward beyond the collet 24 and threaded at its end, as shown at 29, for,

The body of the spindle 27 is provided at its ends with' connection with the engine-shaft.

conicalbearing-su rfaces 30,which are adapted to bear, respectively, against the bearing-su rface 26 of the collet 24 and`a similar bearing surface 3l at the inner end of ythe sleeve 22.

32 represents the second coupling member which is mounted within the hollow interior` of the spindle 27 andisV free .to `move longi-V tudinally therein but rotates along therewith. A

This rotative engagement may be obtained,

as in the construction shown, by providing in the member 32 a longitudinal slot 33, with which engages a pin 34, extending through the spindle 27. A spr-ing 35, seated in the recess in the spindle 27, bears against the mem'- I ber 32 and forces the' same normally toward the open end of said spindle, or, in other words, toward the other coupling member 20.- l Thecoupling member 32 is vprovided in itsouter or exposed end with a polygonal recess v36 of a shape adapting kit to engage the 'cor-- responding projection 21 on the member 20,

and in the'construc'tion shown this polygonalrecess consistsmerely of a transverse slot` which is adapted to receive and ii't the flat# tened tongue 2l. v i

VIt will be understood, of course, that in practice each handpiece which it is desired to use will be provided with the parts 16 and 20, while only one set of the remainingparts needs to be provided for attachment to the end of the iexible shaft of the engine. S'I't will also be observed that the collet 24 andV spindle 27 are iinished at their ends in the same manner as thecollet 13 and spindle 12 of the ordinary-handpiece, so as to adaptthem for direct connection with the end of the enginefshaft. The parts having been` assembled by connecting the collet 24 andthreaded terminal 29 of the spindle 27 :with the corresponding Yparts of the engine-shaft, while the parts v16 and 20 are connected to the corresponding parts of the handpiece, the handpiece maybe operatively connect-- ed with the engine by simply inserting ther fs'leeve 22 in the sleeve l16 until the projection 19 engages the groove 23 and locks the ltwo parts of the coupling together. ing this insertion the coupling member 20 passes into the hollow interior of the `sleeve '22 and also into the hollow interior of the" spindle 27 and engages the other coupling member 32.

Hdi'ate entra-nce'thereinto o'f the tongue 2l the Acoupling member 3 2 will yield, and as itrotat'es will quickly assume a position permit` ting the engagement ot' the slot and tongue, whereupon the spring 35 will throw the member 32 forward into such engagement. While the parts are thus engaged it is obvious that rotary motion will be transmitted from the v Incase the slot 36 is not pret sented in such aposiftion as to permit imme;

'engine-shaft to the spindle 2,7 and from this latter to the spindle 12 of the handpiece. When it is desired to remove the handpiece and replace it with another one, such removal and replacing may be instantly ac complished by simply pulling the two members of the coupling directly apart and vslippingen the other lha`ndpiece,vvhich will immediately become operatively connected with the. vengine-shaft. The coupling is so constructed that it may be-conuected with and used as an intermediate' device between the lordinary handpiece and engine-shaft as generally constructed, and by'its use the various handpieces may be attached'to and detached from the engine-shaft while this latter is in motion in a Vpractically instantaneous' manner and .by a single direct motion.

f Provision is made for taking-'up wear be- I-tween the spindle 27 and sleeve 22, within which it bears, by means ofthe conical bearings 30 onthe spindle and the lcorresponding bearings 31 on vthe-sleeve and 26 on the collet 24. This adj ustment is accomplished by reason of the threaded engagement of the collet kwith the sleeve, which permits said collet .to

have its bearing-surface 26 brought closer to the bearing-surface 3l at the opposite lend of the sleeve,and thereby take upanywear which may occur between said bearing-surfaces and the conical bearing-surface lSiO-of the spindle. Provision is also `made for lubrication be-v tween `the spindle 2.7 and'sleeve`22 by an aper ture 37 through the sleeve, the spindle 27`be'- ing 'circumferentially reduced, as .shown at 38, to form an loil-chamber. It is obvious Vthat various modifications maybe made withtudinal motion, and the coupling members being Vadapted to automaticallycouple or in terlock, the coupling member carried bythe Vengine-shaft section being adapted to yield longitudinally when pressed against the other member in couplingl the sections, substanitially as described.

2. The combination, with the casing and spindle, of fa dental handpiece, of a sleeve adapted to be connected to the casing and a coupling member adapted to be connected to the spindle,'said sleeve being provided with an elastic orspring portion having a projection, a second sleeve'adapted tofit-and slide within the lfirst-'mentioned sleeve and having a groove or recess` to receive the projection `thereof, and a spindle mounted in said sec- Ido rie

0nd sleeve and providedwith a yielding coupling member to engage the first-mentioned coupling member, said second sleeve and spindle being adapted for connection with the engine-shaft and its coupling, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a handpiece and its spindle, of a sleeve connected with the handpiece-casing, a coupling member connected with the spindle, and a second sleeve adapted for connection with the rst-mentioned sleeve and provided With a hollow spindle having a spring-actuated coupling member longitudinally movable in said spindle but rotating therewith,-said second sleeve and spindle being adapted for connection with 

